Frequently asked questions and Terminology

Frequently Asked Questions

Terminology

Web analytics is the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of web data for
purposes of understanding and optimizing web usage. However, Web analytics is not
just a process for measuring web traffic but can be used as a tool for business and
market research, and to assess and improve the effectiveness of a website. Web analytics
applications can also help companies measure the results of traditional print or
broadcast advertising campaigns. It helps one to estimate how traffic to a website
changes after the launch of a new advertising campaign. Web analytics provides
information about the number of visitors to a website and the number of page views. It
helps gauge traffic and popularity trends which is useful for market research.

A web content management system (WCMS or just CMS for short) is a software system that
provides website authoring, collaboration, and administration tools designed to allow
users with little knowledge of web programming languages or markup languages to create
and manage website content with relative ease. A robust Web Content Management System
provides the foundation for collaboration, offering users the ability to manage
documents and output for multiple author editing and participation.

The most common CMS on the market is WordPress. WordPress was used by more than 23.3%
of the top 10 million websites as of January 2015. WordPress is the most popular
blogging system in use on the Web, at more than 60 million websites.

Domain names serve as names for Internet resources such as computers, networks, and services.
A domain name represents an Internet Protocol (IP) resource. Individual Internet host
computers use domain names as host identifiers, or host names. Host names are the leaf
labels in the domain name system usually without further subordinate domain name space.
Host names appear as a component in Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) for Internet resources
such as web sites (e.g., en.wikipedia.org).

A driver is software that allows your computer to communicate with hardware or devices.
Without drivers, the hardware you connect to your computer—for example, a video card or a
printer—won't work properly.

If you have a hardware device that isn't working properly with your computer, you probably
need an updated driver. There are multiple ways to update a driver:

Run specialized software that will search your computer, analyze the driver information
against the manufacture, then update all of the drivers accordingly.

Use Windows Update. You might need to set Windows Update to automatically download and
install recommended updates.

Install software from the device manufacturer. For example, if your device came with a
disc, that disc might contain software that installs a driver for the device.

Download and update the driver yourself. Use this method to install a driver that you d
ownload from the manufacturer's website. Do this if Windows Update can't find a driver
for your device and the device didn't come with software that installs a driver. The
Windows 7 Compatibility Center website lists thousands of devices, and has direct links
to driver downloads.

Computer Hardware (usually simply called 'hardware' when a computing context is concerned)
is the collection of physical elements that constitutes a computer system. Computer hardware
is the physical parts or components of a computer, such as the monitor, mouse, keyboard,
computer data storage, hard disk drive (HDD), graphic cards, sound cards, memory (RAM),
motherboard, and so on, all of which are physical objects that are tangible. In contrast,
software is instructions that can be stored and run by hardware.

Software is any set of machine-readable instructions that directs a computer's processor to
perform specific operations. A combination of hardware and software forms a usable computing
system.

Malware, short for malicious software, is any software used to disrupt computer operations,
gather sensitive information, gain access to private computer systems, or display unwanted
advertising.

Malware is defined by its malicious intent, acting against the requirements of the computer
user, and does not include software that causes unintentional harm due to some deficiency.

Malware may be stealthy, intended to steal information or spy on computer users for an
extended period without their knowledge, or it may be designed to cause harm, often as
sabotage, or to extort payment.

'Malware' is an umbrella term used to refer to a variety of forms of hostile or intrusive
software, including computer viruses, worms, trojan horses, ransomware, spyware, adware,
scareware, and other malicious programs. It can take the form of executable code, scripts,
active content, and other software.

Malware is often disguised as, or embedded in, non-malicious files. As of 2011 the majority
of active malware threats were worms or trojans rather than viruses.

RWD is an approach to web design aimed at crafting sites to provide an optimal viewing
and interaction experience—easy reading and navigation with a minimum of resizing,
panning, and scrolling—across a wide range of devices (from desktop computer monitors
to mobile phones).

Responsive web design is becoming more important as the amount of mobile traffic now
accounts for more than half of total internet traffic. This trend is so prevalent that
Google has begun to boost the ratings of sites that are mobile friendly if the search
was made from a mobile device. This has the net effect of penalizing sites that are not
mobile friendly.

SEO is a marketing discipline focused on growing visibility in organic (non-paid) search
engine results. SEO encompasses both the technical and creative elements required to
improve rankings, drive traffic, and increase awareness in search engines. There are
many aspects to SEO, from the words on your page to the way other sites link to you on
the web. Sometimes SEO is simply a matter of making sure your site is structured in a
way that search engines understand.

SEO isn't just about building search engine-friendly websites. It's about making your
site better for people too.

Social media is the collective of online communications channels dedicated to
community-based input, interaction, content-sharing and collaboration. Websites and
applications dedicated to forums, microblogging, social networking , social bookmarking,
social curation, and wikis are among the different types of social media.

Computer software also called a program or simply software is any set of instructions that
directs a computer to perform specific tasks or operations. Computer software consists of
computer programs, libraries and related non-executable data (such as online documentation
or digital media). Computer software is non-tangible, contrasted with computer hardware,
which is the physical component of computers. Computer hardware and software require each
other and neither can be realistically used without the other.

Spyware is a general term used to describe software that performs certain behaviors,
generally without appropriately obtaining your consent first, such as:

Advertising

Collecting personal information

Changing the configuration of your computer

Spyware is often associated with software that displays advertisements (called adware) or
software that tracks personal or sensitive information.

What does spyware do

Knowing what spyware does can be a very difficult process because most spyware is designed
to be difficult to remove. Other kinds of spyware make changes to your computer that can be
annoying and can cause your computer slow down or crash.

These programs can change your web browser's home page or search page, or add additional
components to your browser you don't need or want. They also make it very difficult for you
to change your settings back to the way you had them.

Computer viruses are small software programs that are designed to spread from one computer
to another and to interfere with computer operation.

What do computer viruses do?

Through the course of using the Internet and your computer, you may have come in to contact
with computer viruses. Many computer viruses are stopped before they can start, but there
is still an ever growing concern as to what do computer viruses do and the list of common
computer virus symptoms. A computer virus might corrupt or delete data on your computer,
use your email program to spread itself to other computers, or even erase everything on
your hard disk.

Computer viruses are often spread by attachments in email messages or instant messaging
messages. That is why it is essential that you never open email attachments unless you know
who it's from and you are expecting it.

Viruses can be disguised as attachments of funny images, greeting cards, or audio and video
files.

Computer viruses also spread through downloads on the Internet. They can be hidden in illicit
software or other files or programs you might download.

To help avoid computer viruses, it's essential that you keep your computer current with the
latest updates and antivirus tools, stay informed about recent threats, run your computer
as a standard user (not as administrator), and that you follow a few basic rules when you
surf the Internet, download files, and open attachments.

Once a virus is on your computer, its type or the method it used to get there is not as
important as removing it and preventing further infection.

A web hosting service is a type of Internet hosting service that allows individuals and
organizations to make their website accessible via the World Wide Web. Web hosts are
companies that provide space on a server owned or leased for use by clients, as well as
providing Internet connectivity, typically in a data center. Web hosts can also provide
data center space and connectivity to the Internet for other servers located in their data
center, called colocation.

A website, also written as web site, or simply site, is a set of related web pages typically
served from a single web domain. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible
via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet
address known as a uniform resource locator (URL). All publicly accessible websites
collectively constitute the World Wide Web.